Compartment comb



Sept. 30, 1952 w J 1 0 2,612,175

COMPARTMENT COMB Filed March 12, 1947 a7 ,ze

IN V EN TOR.

WILLIAM J, MARTINO BY A TTO/PNEV Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE COMPARTMENT MB William Martino, Garden City, Mich. Application March 12, 1941, Serial No. 734,026

1 Claim. 1

in the cover retaining mechanism is, particularly adapted to avoid entangling the hair during combing, and wherein the receptacle and cover are cooperable with the comb in providing a comb of ornamental and moderndesign.

Other objects are to provide an improved compartment comb having a detachableficover which may be readily secured in interlocking engage ment with the comb in cover position'over the receptacle, or detached therefrom, by awsimple slidingmovement; and to provide such a'compartment comb having a slidable cover of resi1i-- ent material which also may be readily sprung into locked cover position.

Another object is to provide a compartment comb having an improved hinged access to the compartment in the back thereof, wherein the back portion of the comb is split longitudinally essentially along the 'midline of the back and for the length of the compartment therein, and one half of the split back portion is hinged at its ends to provide a compartment opening similar to the hinged top opening of a ladys handbag;

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description .and appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the-several views.

In the drawings: 1

Fig. 1 is a side view of a compartmentcomb embodying the present invention, a portion of one cover member being broken away.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken in the direction of the arrows essentially along the line .2-- -2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary isometric "View of the compartment cover shown in Fig. 1, showing the-chamfered ends of the depending flanges of the cover.

Fig. 4 is a side View of another embodiment of vention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged frag-mentary section taken in the direction of the arrows essentially along the line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side view of another embodiment of a compartment comb employing the present invention. I

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary end view taken in the direction of the arrows essentially along the line 'l-'l of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross section through the back portion of still another compartment comb embodying the present invention, a' tresmentary portionof the hinged compartment cover being shown in the open position in phantom.

Before explaining the present invention in detail it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of. construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings-since the in.-

vention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also it is to be understood thatthe phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Briefly the present invention proposes an, improved compartment comb wherein a' longitudinally grooved compartment or receptacle is formed in the back or body portion of the comb. The compartment may extend the entire length of the comb body, or any portion thereof, and may comprise one continuous compartment, or. a plurality of separate compartments, permitting the owner of the comb .to conveniently carry a number of small articles iii-separate compartments. 'Ihevarious advantages of the type of compartment comb disclosedherein may be, readily, achieved in a, number of forms, with various means being employed to hold the compartment covers in position, without departing from the spirit of my invention. Several'such embodiments of my invention are described in detail .below by way of example.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, one such embodiment. of a compartment comb employing the present invention is shown wherein the back or bodyportion lll-of'the comb provides the two symmetrically disposed grooved receptacles or the two sides l2 of the back to, and the two -compartments l I are situated at opposite ends of the. comb body I-0. The compartments Illmay also open to the back face 13 of the combbodytfl, or to portions of both the sides I 2 and back IiSwhere. desirable. The compartments H are primarily 3 adapted for receiving hairpins or bobby pins or similar small articles, although the compartments II may be adapted in various sizes or lengths for various purposes. By slightly enlarging the body portion ID, the compartments II may be adapted for receiving small cosmetic containers or manicuring implements.

On either longitudinal side of each compartment I I and parallel thereto are the longitudinal cover receiving channels I4, which are preferably undercut toward the grooved receptacles H at the base of the channels I4 as shown in Fig.2. The covers I5 for the receptacles I I each provide a pair of longitudinal depending flanges or runners I6 which are slightly inturned so as to engage and interlock with the undercut channels I4. As shown in Fig. 3, the ends H of the runners I6 are chamfered to serve. as inclined surfaces to raise the ends of the runners I6 from their corresponding channels I4, and to facilitate slidable removal of the covers I5 from their correspondcompartments II. Thus each cover I5 may be readily slid longitudinally from its cover position merely by pushing longitudinally on the upper surface thereof. If desired, the ends of the channels It may also be inclined to provide inclined planes to cooperate with the chamfered ends I'I. It is also possible to incline only the ends of the channels I4 and not the runner ends I'I. However, the construction shown in Fig. 3 wherein only the ends I? of the runners I6 are inclined is satisfactory for purposes of illustration.

With the exception of the compartment assembly, the comb shown may be conventional in other respects and may be formed in the manner of conventional combs, as by molding from hard rubber or suitable plastic material for example. The cover I5-may be similarly molded. Accordingly the sliding cover arrangement permits economies in the manufacture of the comb inasmuch as the compartments II and channels I4 may be molded into the comb body It during the molding of the comb without the expense of additional forming-or assembling operations. Thus the arrangement of the detachable sliding cover I5 as shown offers practically no problem 'in assembly, such as the fastening of hinges required for the hinge type cover, or the addition of looking means to hold the covers in cover position.

j Also by the arrangement shown, the covers I5 maybe adapted to lie-flush with the side I2 of the comb. The mechanism for holding the cover I5 in place is both concealed and unobtrusive so as toavoid 'entangling the hair during combing, and interference with the ornamental features of the comb. Furthermore, the detachable covers I5 readily permit the utilization of various decorative colors which may differ from the color of the comb body Ill.

The covers I5 are preferably formed of resilient material so that they may be attached to the comb body It in cover position merely by springing the edges of the runners I6 apart and forcing them into the channels I4. In this respect the runners I6 may be interlocked with the channels I4 without sliding the runners I6 into the chan v 'nels I4 from the ends'thereof.

, Referring toFigs. 4 and 5, another embodiment of the present invention is shown wherein the comb I8 has the longitudinal sliding channel cover I9. In this example the longitudinal grooved'compartment 20 opens to the back face of the comb' I8. On either side of the compartment 20 are the longitudinal bead moldings 2| which extend essentially the length of the back of the comb I8 so as to engage the inturned clips 22 which comprise the channel sides of the chan nel cover I 9, Fig. 5.

Both the bead moldings 2I and the side clips 22 extend longitudinally essentially the length of the compartment 20, which extends essentially the length of the comb I8. It is apparent that the compartment 23 may be separated into a number of smaller compartments similar in size to the compartments II of Fig. 1. Also the bead moldings 2| and the side clips 22 need not be continuous along the entire length of the compartment 20, and for certain purposes may comprise a number of short sections adapted to interlock essentially as shown, Fig. 5.

The cover I9 may be removed from the comb by sliding off one end or the other. Where desirable the ends 23 of the comb I8 may be slightly enlarged to prevent accidental displacement of the cover I9. In such a case, the inherent resiliency of the channel cover I9 must" be sufficient to permit spreading of the channel sides 22 upon the application of a light force so as to allow. the cover I9 to slide on or off an end of the comb I8.

It is to be noted that in opening either the compartments I I or the compartment 20, the corresponding slide covers I5 or I9 need not be completely detached from their respective comb bodies. Accordingly where a number of small items or articles are contained within the compartment, the sliding type of cover has the advantage of permitting the compartment to be opened gradually, or to a small extent at one end,

to safeguard against losing its contents.

Figs. 6 and '7 show still another embodiment of a compartment comb employing my invention. In this instance the cover 2A is hinged to the comb body 25 by means of the pivot pins 26 which are embedded in the cover 24 at opposite ends thereof and into the adjacent bosses 21. The two bosses 21 project from the comb body 25 at opposite ends of the hinged cover 24 as shown in Fig. 6. The compartment 28 in this example opens from one side of the comb body, although where desired for other types of compartment combs having hinged covers, the compartment 28 may open to other portions of the comb body.

Such an example is shown in Fig. 8, which is a cross sectional view essentially through the back portion of another hinged cover compartment comb embodying the present invention. The compartment 29 opens to one side and to the back of the comb body 30. The back face 3I of the comb body 30 is split essentially along its midline for the length of the compartment 29, so that the cover 32 closes along the midline of the back face 3| similarly to the closing of a ladys pocketbook. The cover 32 is hinged at opposite ends to the comb body 33 by pins 33, thereby avoiding objectionable protuberances and also permitting the cover 32 to lie flush with the adjacent portions of the body 38. Thus the compartment cover in-, conspicuously blends with the styling of the comb and avoids projecting hinges or other protuberances which might entangle the hair during combing.

Both'of the hinged covers 24 and 32 ma be locked in the closed position by any one of numerous conventional fastening means similar to those conventionally employed with cigarette cases, ladys pocketbooks, or compacts, for example.

By the above specification and description I have disclosed a novel and convenient compartment comb of economical manufacture, which permits a built-in compartment that does not interfere with the ornamentation of the comb or employ exposed mechanisms which might entangle the hair, and which is adapted for use with either a hinged type compartment cover or a slidable compartment cover interlockable with the comb body.

I claim:

In a compartment comb, the combination of a body portion having a compartment therein and adjacent channels on opposite sides of said compartment, a detachable cover for said compartment, and flanges depending from said cover and adapted to engage the channels in said comb body portion in sliding engagement therewith to permit sliding of said cover relative to said comb body portion, said flanges having chamfered ends to facilitate slidable removal of said cover from said body portion.

WILLIAM J. MAR'I'INO.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,061,831 Freese May 13, 1913 0,011 Siesholtz Dec. 26, 1916 2,080,248 Ballou May 11, 1937 2,164,385 Carson July 4, 1939 2,237,611 Motley Apr. 8, 1941 2,470,157 Gambino May 17, 1949 2,496,311 Renfrew Feb. 7, 19 0 2,497,983 Fabis Feb. 21, 19 

